Any Extreme Networks users here?

[Amethyst_Hat]

I am about to design a solution for a large company and I would like to know your experience with thier WLAN controllers/APs/switches, etc...

Any help is sincerely appreciated.

:awe:

 

[theevilsharpie]

If you are designing a solution for a company (particularly large companies with plenty of bored lawyers on staff), you should understand the products and services that make up your design so you do not inadvertently use them in ways in which they are not suited.

Designing a solution around products and services that are unfamiliar to you is usually a bad idea.

:awe:

 

[cmetz]

Amethyst_Hat, a long, long time ago, Cisco produced several generations of underperforming, underfeatured, and generally underwhelming GigE switches. Extreme and Foundry produced switches that performed, had great features, and their software and reliability were good enough.

Since then, Cisco has caught up and is producing switches that are competitive in performance and features (still overpriced, but they are the market leader and they get to do that), while both Extreme and Foundry lost their ways as companies. Foundry got bought by Brocade, which I think is actually working out okay. Extreme is not doing so well.. years ago, they came out with a completely new software OS and completely new hardware based on completely new chipsets, and have never quite gotten back to their heyday. For example, I've heard nothing good from people who have used their X series switches in production environments.

If I were designing what you're saying you're designing, my inclination would be to use a Cisco or Juniper switch layer, and then look at someone like Aruba for a controlled/managed Wifi product. I would not try to get it all from one vendor.

 

[debian0001]

Check out Force10 stuff. My company went to Force10 about 2 to 3 years ago when Cisco decided to halt production and we couldn't get anything from them. Seems to be decent.

 

[cmetz]

debian0001, Force10 made some good - not great, but good - switches. But they went through some very wierd M&A cycles (somebody else buys them, and then the parent changes the name...?) and finally Dell bought them. I have not been happy with other acquisitions Dell has done, and so I am pessimistic that Force10's will work out any better. So basically, while Force10 was okay in the past, I would be hesitant to use them for new builds where I expect to be using them in production for a cap cycle of 3-5 years.

 

[Cooky]

If I were designing what you're saying you're designing, my inclination would be to use a Cisco or Juniper switch layer, and then look at someone like Aruba for a controlled/managed Wifi product. I would not try to get it all from one vendor.

I agree to a certain degree.
Cisco solutions are expensive, but most of their products, especially routing & switching are solid.
I may be biased, since 90% of our equipment is Cisco, but we've been happy w/ it so far.

Cisco's wireless controller is ok - not awesome, but not bad at all.
The actual AP hardware is rock solid (not management software) - never had any issues w/ them.

If there's plan to do unified/centralized security such as Cisco's ISE, having switches & wireless controllers from same vendor makes it easier on you as an integrator.